Purported Texas Syndicate leader pleads guilty in racketeering case

The instruction came straight out of “Africa” — not the continent, but gangspeak for the Coffield Unit, a state prison near Tyler.

A hit had been authorized on a then-leader of operations for the Texas Syndicate in San Antonio, Andrew “Dirty” Vidaurri.

Days later, gang operatives met near San Antonio to discuss how it would go down and a hit squad of gang prospects was dispatched to a West Side home July 2, 2011.

The crew sprayed the home in the 400 block of Beverly Drive with bullets, and Vidaurri's sister-in-law, Priscilla, ended up dead.

Vidaurri, 31, wasn't hurt, but his brother Hector, an Iraqi war veteran, was wounded.

On Thursday, a then-chairman of the Texas Syndicate, Rolando “Black Rabbit” Muñiz, 32, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to commit racketeering acts in furtherance of the gang's activities.

As part of his plea, he acknowledged prosecutors could prove he sat in on at least one meeting where the hit was discussed.

He also admitted involvement in drug trafficking and faces up to life in federal prison without parole.

“I think he might have been present where it was discussed, but he was not involved in the shooting that resulted in the death,” said his lawyer, Alan Brown.

Brown said Muñiz was only a figurehead, and that Vidaurri — who pleaded guilty earlier this year and admitted to his leadership role — ran the gang's operations in San Antonio.

Court records said the gang didn't like the way Vidaurri was managing the syndicate's affairs, so other leaders in the Coffield Unit decided to take him out.

It's just one of a string of acts listed in a racketeering indictment handed up last December that names 20 syndicate members or associates.

The indictment also blames the gang for a string of other fatal and nonfatal shootings here — a turf usually controlled by the Texas Mexican Mafia.

Besides Muñiz, Fernando “Lil' Fern” Gonzalez, 38, also pleaded guilty Thursday, admitting to his participation in the gang's drug ventures. He faces up to 20 years in prison.